private Far from home. 1x1 with Illiad Easle

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga didn't respond to Ditzy as she didn't  really know what to say to it, she wasn't used to being told so...positive things, and it felt weird to have someone empathize. She didn't want to seem like she ignored it either though, so she gave a slow nod with a smile as a response, it was weird, now that she was getting the hang of the whole smiling thing, it felt almost like smiling made her just a bit happier.

For Dinky's questions, they all were easy enough for Ædriga to come up with responses, but the answers themselves weren't that easy, and her responses, all after moment of thinking, were in order "I no know" "Maybe" and "Maybe" she didn't yet know of her future, she knew what she wanted to happen, but she couldn't be sure if it would, and while yes, she now currently was staying with Ætheron and was most likely to end up to live in the forest, 'now' was longer timespan to her than it may have been to a pony foal.

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron seemed to pick up on Ædriga's discomfort, or at least lack of understanding when it came to social situations, and inwardly chided himself at not thinking that that could cause an issue. To allieviate the situation he stood from the table once he and Ædriga were done eating. "We greatly appreciate your hospitality Ditzy, but we must get going if we're going to make it to our cave before nightfall."

Ditzy nodded and smiled, "The pleasure is all ours, don't worry about the dishes, we'll take care of them. You two have a safe journey, and come back soon please?"

Ætheron nodded as he headed for the door, "I'll be sure to come back again."

Once outside he would stretch his legs and back before turning to Ædriga, "So, let's head back to that forest cave we looked at, maybe spending a night there will help you know if you like it?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

@Illiad Easle
"Thank you." Ædriga thanked before leaving the table after Ætheron, and she waved before exiting the house, she didn't necessarily know what these gestures were for, but she had picked them up from others and it didn't seem she was doing it wrong, so she continued doing them. 

"Maybe." she responded "Need time if want know if like, no can know if only see." 

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron nodded, "Well, we've got three days here before the next set of mail needs to get moved, that should give you at least an idea of what the cave is like."

It would be a pretty uneventful journey back to the cave as the sun set. The time when the day creatures were going to sleep and the nocturnal ones were just waking up. A peaceful twilight period of the day.

Once they were at the cave Ætheron asked, "If you got big and strong here, would you go back where you came from?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

@Illiad Easle
 

Ædriga shook her head "No, I no want there, I no like there." there was no question about it, sure she missed her cave and the little treasure she had managed to collect, but it wasn't worth all the bad things "I now small and soft, some day I big and strong, but other dragons now big and strong, some day more big and more strong." it was a losing battle, it didn't matter what she did here, as it wasn't her size alone that was the problem, the problem was her size compared to others, sure she would become bigger, but so would those who were already bigger than her.

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron seemed relieved to hear that. He took a seat against one wall of the cave, "When I first came here, all I wanted to do was get back. I thought there was something important back there that I had lost. Over time I realized that here had so much more to offer me than there ever did. I never found a way to go back, I stopped looking once I realized that there was no reason."

He looked over at her, "I'm glad that you want to stay here, with me."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

"I know how go there, but I no want. When I leave I no know if other place here, I no know if more good here, but I know if I no leave, I dead, and if leave, maybe dead, maybe no." it was a blind shot when she left, as far as she knew then, there was only sea so far she would die from exhaustion, but she didn't really have any other option, even the smallest amount of hope for survival was better than certain death. "But here no hurt, here friends like you." "When I hurt, I think I dead, but you help I." she smiled, and in general looked happy, was this what was expected from her as response? probably not, but she was still trying to figure out the whole socializing thing.

@Illiad Easle

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron smiled at that, "I did help you. Were I back where I came from, I might not have. I'm glad I did help you, this world has changed me for the better, the kinder."

He stretched a bit before laying down to rest, "Let's get some sleep then, tomorrow you're free do do as you wish, and I'll be happy to join you if you want."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

@Illiad Easle
"Good night." Ædriga simply said, she decided to leave reminding Ætheron about her wish to be alone for the next day, as she didn't want him to misunderstand her words as her wanting to be alone right now, the cave was quite a conveniently timed, as she would be able to think about things while also doing changes to the cave, instead of having to just sit or lay somewhere while trying to clear her head. She stayed awake for some time longer, wandering around outside and inside the cave for few moments before eventually heading to the deepest part of the cave and laying down.

She was still there whenever Ætheron woke up, and until he woke up before sunrise, she would be reading one of the books she had gotten from the library when he did, as she woke up around when the first rays of sunlight appeared, even if they didn't reach the cave, and started reading right away.

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron would also get up around when the sun just started rising, in no small part due to the cave facing east allowing the first rays to shine directly into the cave over the treetops.

He would stretch a bit, briefly looking for his package harness before he remembered that he had left it in the mail office. He went out to the mouth of the cave to better appreciate the rising sun for a moment before coming back to Ædriga, "Alright, we've got the day to ourselves. Do you want me to stick around? Or should I get going? I'm sure you can find me if you need me for anything later..."

He did his best to convey that he was fine with being told to leave her alone, there were a few things he wanted to do by himself anyway.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga closed the book when Ætheron spoke to her "I want time alone, I need time alone, need think." there didn't seem to be much hesitation with the words, almost like she had decided in advance what words to use "Lot new here, need think." her tone too was more confident than when she needed to think a response, again showing that this wasn't just a sudden realization, she had known she needed her moment of peace since she had first asked for it, if not longer. 

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron nodded, "Understood, I hope you have a good time, come and find me when you're ready."

With that he would set off with his things, leaving hardly a trace that he had been in the cave at all.

(I don't know if you're interested in reading about what he goes off and does when Ædriga can't see him, so I'll put that in my next post if you are.)

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

@Illiad Easle
(Some kind of summary would be good.)

Ædriga started to look around the cave and the close by area as she planned what to do with it, and while she planned and eventually started to make changes, she thought about her situation, all the new things she had experienced, the weird things she had been feeling, and her future in general, she had lot to think about. The changes to the cave cave were simple put noticeable, she reshaped few places into more comfortable shape with heat, mainly the area she had slept in, and made the cave more easy to defend by bringing big pieces of stone from outside and fusing them into it to make it bit less open.

She also made it so that she wouldn't be visible from outside when she would be sleeping, and made changes that affected the way the air moved, making it so that her smoke wouldn't reveal her by travelling out of the entrance. The end result was quite intelligent design, it was still recognizable as the same cave, there was only so much you could do to a cave, but it was notably more defensive, and from outside it was less inviting than it used to be, on purpose that was, after all, wouldn't want anyone take it over while she was gone.

As it was time consuming work, it would be quite late when Ædriga was done with the cave, and remembering that they had spoken about three day break, she didn't go seek Ætheron down, besides, she knew he would come to her if there was something important.

If Ætheron didn't come to the cave at some point, Ædriga would spend the second day reading the books she had gotten, going on language learning marathon, only pausing to satisfy her needs for the day, and in the third day she would leave the cave to seek Ætheron down, she would take the books with her as she would have gone them all mostly through at that point., the Daring Doo book would be the one she read the least, as while it helped her to understand few things about the language, she wasn't really one for reading for fun, besides, with life like hers, the adventures of Daring Doo were unimpressive at best. 

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron would spend the first part of the day doing his best to actually relax, something he had not allowed himself to do for a very long time. He made his way to a nearby shallow lake and treated himself to a lengthy soak while also spearing the occasional fish who swam too close to him. After eating the fish for lunch he went for a vigorous run through some of the nearby fields, both for exercise and to dry himself off. As night drew near he considered going back to the cave, but figured Ædriga would come to him if she wanted him there, perhaps she wanted to know what sleeping alone in the cave was like? Instead he decided to avail himself of Ditzy's hospitality again, spending the night in her living room.

On the second day Ætheron went out to see Zecora, enquiring about the status of the preparations for dealing with the walking dead pony, then going out to help gather anything that she might still lack. He would spend that evening hunting small game to dry that night to have in reserve for the next few weeks of traveling back and forth. He'd spend that night in an open field.

On the third morning he would head to the mail office and prepare their packages on their harnesses so they'd be ready do go once Ædriga came down. Ædriga would be able to find him there or waiting in a field outside of town, "There you are, did everything go well?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga landed outside of town and sniffed the air, she had left early to avoid the crowds as it was lot easier to find Ætheron's scent when there wasn't many others around. She found a relatively fresh scent and followed it to the mail office, greeting Ætheron and anyone else that may have been there "Yes, all go well, cave now okay, I no alone there, small lizards there too, but it okay." she had learned lot of words the day back, and while her pronunciation wasn't best possible since he had been studying them from text, it would get better with time "I need go give books back before we leave, I read them all."

 

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ditzy was in the mail office with Ætheron at the time, and she smiled warmly at the greeting.

Ætheron nodded at Ædriga's comments, "I'm glad things turned out well in that cave, it was one of my favorites for stopping just outside of Ponyville." He was a bit surprised to hear that she had finished reading all the books, "Already? Those are some advanced books, I think practice is all you need now to get good at the language, but maybe the library has some other books that might interest you."

He'd turn to leave but would call back to Ditzy, "We'll go by the library real quick, then pick up the packages before we make our way out of town."

With that he would head off in the direction of the library unless Ædriga stopped him.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

@Illiad Easle
"Can learn fast when no other things take mind." Ædriga simply stated regarding Ætheron's surprise, she continued after he had done speaking to Ditzy, she had no reason to stop him "Maybe more books when come here again, I no need books now, and it no good if book break when travel." "I now need hear and speak words more." it was incredible what a one day of studying achieved, a good show of Ædriga's intelligence (and the narrator getting fed up trying to remember what words to use and not use)

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron nodded at that, "I think that will do you some good, I'll try to use more words to give you more experience if that helps?"

With that they arrived at the library, Ætheron once again waiting outside while Ædriga went in to return the books. Spike was there like last time, "Back already? You almost read as fast as Twilight!" He chuckled at that, "How'd you like them?"

(To be honest, I don't know what else we can do going forward that we haven't already done. There's only so many interesting things that can happen while walking across a forest delivering packages.)

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

@Illiad Easle
"Books help but I no care daring do, I no like read story, it boring." Ædriga responded, and because she had a guess on what was most likely going to be the next question, she continued "And no need new books now, maybe when come back again." 

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Spike seemed slightly disappointed that Ædriga didn't like the Daring Doo book, but shrugged, "I'll try to find something more interesting for you next time. I'll take care of those books for you, they look to be in excellent condition still, so that's good. You have a safe trip out there!"

With that Spike would take the books and start placing them back on the shelves where they belonged.

 

Outside Ætheron was simply leaning against the outside of the library waiting for Ædriga to come back, when she came out he would comment, "The young ponies must be in school right now, usually they swarm me by now."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga gave the books and the bag back and said bye before leaving the library, she still didn't like being in there so she didn't want to waste any time. 
"I no know what school is, but it morning, maybe young ponys still sleep." she responded as she joined Ætheron "No many ponys here now." she didn't know what would be considered to be a lot of ponies, but she did know that there was less smells and noise now than there had been before, which made sense since it was a morning, prey animals like ponies usually were more active at day, while predators like her were more nocturnal.

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron started to lead the way back towards and into the forest, "School is similar to what you were doing with the books: learning, or rather school is a place where you learn, usually with a teacher, or someone who helps you learn. They all learn together, rather than by themselves."

Once they were a bit of the way into the forest Ætheron turned their course more northward than they had traveled before, "We're headed towards Canterlot this time, which will take a bit longer than our other trips, especially since we're going to avoid the valley, Ditzy told me there's been reports of a dragon in that area, by keeping to the forest and the hills we should be able to avoid it."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

@Illiad Easle
Ædriga thought about the idea of school for a moment but didn't say anything about it, she couldn't imagine her kind in a school, even ignoring the whole fighting to the death thing, her kind was very competitive and easily bored, so getting several of them to get along long enough to teach them would be quite a feat.

She got visibly uncomfortable at the mention of potentially dangerous dragon, she hadn't even realized just how scared she really was of her own kind before the one that looked like a pony, Spike was okay, as to her he was barely a dragon, he didn't even have wings, and how she saw it, she would be able to easily deal with him if she ever needed to, but some of the other dragons they had seen while in the cities, they she wasn't so sure about.

[Illiad Easle 2,968]

@Catpone Cerberus

Ætheron took note of her discomfort at the mention of a dragon, but didn't comment on it, knowing that it would likely only serve to enhance her discomfort at being called out on it. Nonetheless he got his bow ready just in case, better to have it ready than to be caught unawares.

Despite their large size, dragons were often very quiet when flying, which helped to keep their potential prey from noticing and running off, not that many could hope to escape on foot when a dragon dove out of the sky at you.

Their journey was relatively peaceful, their concern seemingly for nothing as they didn't see so much as a shadow of a dragon, though traveling under the treetops made keeping an eye out difficult.

They hadn't realized that the dragon had been following them for some time until it decided to make it's strike, having grown tired of waiting for them to leave the tree cover. They only had the snapping branches of the trees above them to warn of the dragon's approach, Ætheron diving out of the way, but not managing to dodge all the debris, catching a few of the falling branches in his dive and coming out the other side with a few scratches.

The dragon didn't leave him much time to recover before going immediately for the packages on his harness, giving Ætheron the chance to lodge an arrow in the dragon's eye, prompting the dragon to grab Ætheron's harness and bodily throw him against a tree some distance away. A wet crunch on impact indicated that more than branches had been broken by the impact, and Ætheron fell limply to the ground. The dragon picked up an amulet that had fallen from the damaged and scattered packages before it looked at Ædriga, "Weak, the ponies made you into a pack mule, and you can't even do that right."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

@Illiad Easle
Having lived most of her life avoiding dragons, Ædriga could sense the danger before sensing the dragon itself, but it didn't help much as she froze up at first, making the extra time she had mean nothing. She didn't really have time to do anything as things went down, she avoided the falling branches, mostly thanks to the combination of her position and small size, but other than that she kinda just stood there in fear until the silence came.

She glanced at Ætheron and then up towards the dragon, the dragon's words could have as well been in new language, as they didn't process in her mind at all, suddenly a switch flipped somewhere inside Ædriga, the fear in her eyes turned to burning hatred and rage, and her whole demeanor changed into more aggressive one, then, without any warning or indication, she was already charging at the dragon while letting out an animalistic roar that was quite impressive for someone of her size.

What she lacked in size, she more than made up in speed, she was like an angry wasp, just lot more deadly as she sank her teeth and all claws of every leg into her opponent, her target being the throat, and getting hit? it only made her more aggressive.